We now live in a world where it’s possible and almost necessary to stay connected 24/7, and where mobile phones play a huge role in helping us achieve this. For the past 6 months or so that I have been following this 24/7-connected lifestyle, I have grown accustomed to checking and dealing with my email every few minutes, being an active Twitterer, staying in touch via IM and Facebook, instantly uploading pictures from my life to the internet, blogging and replying to reader comments,… But for the past 3 weeks, I’ve been back home in Lebanon for my summer vacation and I had to rethink my whole connected strategy.
Being on pre-paid, my only choice for a data plan was a 25MB/month option for 5$. Coming from a 500MB/month data plan in Paris, trying to limit my usage was (and still is) a huge challenge for an über connected person like me. For the first days, there was frustration and anger at the state of mobile internet in Lebanon, until I came to notice the upside of it all: I was re-discovering my phone in a “disconnected” mode, learning to appreciate it and love it. Even though I have the N82, E71 and 5800XpressMusic with me, the 5800XM has won the spot as my main and only device so far (well that is until I got the trial N86 8mp, but that’s a story for another day).
Here is how I’ve been rediscovering the 5800XM and why I’ve been loving it as a disconnected device:
Battery Life
One of my main gripes over the 5800XM in Paris was that the battery wouldn’t last me one full day. In Lebanon, it lasts 2 to 3 days, according to my usage, and this has blown me away as I would’ve never expected it to achieve this.
Contacts Bar
I had never used the Contacts Bar on the 5800XM’s, always preferring the app shortcuts, but given that my lifestyle in Lebanon is more about fun and connecting with friends (as opposed to a work-centric Parisian lifestyle), I decided to go for it and have been enjoying it a lot. It gives me quick access to my 4 preferred contacts and allows me to easily call or SMS them, as well as see my latest communications with them. I’m particularly fond of the white star that appears on the contact’s image when I have a new Missed Call or SMS from the said contact.
Fingerprint
Developed by Tong Ren of ThinkChange, Fingerprint is a small lock application that launches a gimmicky Fingerprint scanning process whenever you unlock your device. It may not be the most essential application on a phone, but since everyone around here is used to picking up my devices and looking around for what apps and games I have installed, I’ve been appreciating Fingerprint. First, it allows me to play a little prank on everyone, and second, it lets me choose who gets to fiddle with my device and adds a little bit of privacy.
BrightLight
It is the smallest things that impress and let you fall in love with mobile tech again and BrightLight is one of those smallest things. Available for free in the Ovi Store for S60 5th, it just uses the Dual-LED flash on the 5800XM to turn it into a pocket flashlight. I’ve been using BrightLight several times a day lately. I even used it once to help my cousin fix his car when it got over-heated during some wondering in the wilderness in ultimate darkness and we were both very grateful for having it.
The Party Effect – Strobe
Another one of those smallest things, Strobe is also a freeware from the Ovi Store developed by the same people behind BrightLight, Offscreen Technologies. It uses the same concept as BrightLight, but allows you to control a frequency of on/off lights. Now if you think this is pretty useless, then think again. I was on a dark balcony the other day, enjoying some snacks with cousins and friends, after we watched the sunset into the sea. I had music pumping and my cousin decided to start dancing. I turned off the balcony lights and launched Strobe, controlling the light frequency. We immediately had a clubbing/partying feel around, with the lights flickering, the music and the nice atmosphere. What a simple 5800XM did that night was way beyond any of the attendees’ imagination.
PhotoBrowser and TV-Out
I’ve been taking some vacation images with the 5800XM, though not totally relying on it as my main camera. But whenever I have new images, I’ve been launching PhotoBrowser and connecting the 5800XM on TV-Out. The wall effect of images, scrolling through them, opening a picture and zooming in with the magnifier effect are always eye-poppers for my friends and family and one of the best ways to show them the latest pictures I’ve taken.
TouchComic
I’ve already spoken about TouchComic in my follow-up on Developer Challenge. It’s a simple application that lets you read comics in .cbz and .zip format, and one that has quickly become one of my favorites on S60 5th. Whenever I’m left a bit alone during this vacation, I’ve been reading some comics on the 5800XM thanks to TouchComic, an enjoying the smooth controls and the simplicity of it all.
Games
I always say that I’m not an avid gamer, but I do like to play from time to time. A couple of games I have been enjoying on the 5800XM are Sensitive by Jamie Fuller (the same guy behind TouchComic), Scrabble by Real Arcade, and MicroPool by Gabor Fetter.
There are of course other things I’ve been enjoying on the 5800XM, but these 8 stood out so far as great vacation helpers. What about you? Are you always connected and has this lifestyle made you believe that your device is pretty useless when disconnected? Or do you follow a connect-only-when-needed policy, and still enjoy the endless possibilities of using your phone?
[Image courtesy of Adored by Hordes]
